Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith [Hardcover]

Douglas Groothuis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 24, 2011

2012 Book Award of Merit winner!

The Christian worldview proposes answers to the most enduring human questions. But are those answers reliable?

In this systematic text, Douglas Groothuis makes a comprehensive apologetic case for Christian theism--proceeding from a defense of objective truth to a presentation of the key arguments for God from natural theology to a case for the credibility of Jesus, the incarnation and the resurrection. Throughout, Groothuis considers alternative views and how they fare intellectually.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Douglas Groothuis does Christian apologetics the way it needs to be done, situating apologetics within a Christian worldview and answering the troubling questions that people are actually asking--questions to which they need answers if faith is going to be a live option. His book draws on many years of teaching and writing about apologetics, distilling the most effective arguments in defense of the Christian faith." (William A. Dembski, author of The End of Christianity)

"Christian Apologetics is an outstanding book that I wholeheartedly endorse. It is one of the most thorough, insightful and well-written apologetics books I have read in a long time. Groothuis has the rare ability to write in a way that is understandable to the nonspecialist and yet rigorous enough to challenge the apologetic connoisseur. I wish every Christian would read this book carefully and then pass it on to a skeptic for discussion, interaction and dialogue." (Sean McDowell, author of Apologetics for a New Generation)

"Groothuis is a leading evangelical thinker and Christian Apologetics is a monumental result of decades of study and reflection. Breathtaking in scope, clear in style, this book is now the go-to text in the field. I know of nothing like it, and I enthusiastically recommend it to all who want to learn to give an answer for the hope that is within them." (J. P. Moreland, author of The God Question)

"Christian Apologetics is a full-scale defense of the Christian faith that is accessible, relevant and wise. This book not only reflects the work of a seasoned apologist; it is written with passion and conviction. I heartily recommend it!" (Paul Copan, Palm Beach Atlantic University)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 752 pages
• Publisher: IVP Academic (August 24, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830839356
• ISBN-13: 978-0830839353
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,156 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a philosopher who serves as Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary and as an Affiliate Faculty at Metropolitan State College of Denver. I have authored two dozen academic papers published in journals such as Religious Studies, Inquiry, Sophia, Philosophia Christi, Think, and Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. I have also published dozens of articles in magazines such as Christianity Today, Books and Culture, The Christian Research Journal, and many others.

I am the author of eleven books:

1. Unmasking the New Age (InterVarsity Press, 1986)
2. Confronting the New Age (InterVarsity Press, 1988)
3. Revealing the New Age Jesus (InterVarsity Press, 1990)
4. Christianity That Counts (Baker Books, 1994)
5. Deceived by the Light (Harvest House, 1995)
6. Jesus in an Age of Controversy (Harvest House, 1996)
7. The Soul in Cyberspace (Baker Books, 1997)
8. Truth Decay (InterVarsity Press, 2000)
9. On Jesus (Wadsworth, 2003)
10. On Pascal (Wadsworth, 2003)
11. Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith (InterVarsity Press, 2011)

I also co-edited the volume, In Defense of Natural Theology: A Post-Humean Assessment (InterVarsity Press, 2005) with James Sennett.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 69 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "nothing like it" October 4, 2011

By Lemaro Thompson

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love apologetics and to say I have a few books on the topic is a vast understatement. And yet now as I look over my collection there is no one book which I have which covers the depth of apologetics and arguments as this book does. The only books which might come close is Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Baker Reference Library) and Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, but yet those books are different. Geisler's Encylopedia of Christian Apologetics is a dictionary and not is not one coherent argument for the Christian Faith, while Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview is more general in providing foundations for the Christian worldview by exploring topics like what is philosophy, general ontolgy, philosophy of time, ethics, different models for the trinity and the like. Groothuis's Christian Apologetics is focused on making the case for the biblical case and he does an astonishing job at this, rather than providing a general education on philosophical issues.

His book addresses these topics:

Part I: Apologetic Preliminaries
1 Introduction: Hope, Despair and Knowing Reality
2 The Biblical Basis for Apologetics
3 Apologetic Method: Evaluating Worldviews
4 The Christian Worldview
5 Distortions of the Christian Worldview--or the God I Don't Believe In
6 Truth Defined and Defended
7 Why Truth Matters Most: Searching for Truth in Postmodern Times
8 Faith, Risk and Rationality: The Prudential Incentives to Christian Faith

Part II: The Case for Christian Theism
9 In Defense of Theistic Arguments
10 The Ontological Argument
11 Cosmological Arguments: A Cause for the Cosmos
12 The Design Argument: Cosmic Fine-Tuning
13 Origins, Design and Darwinism
14 Evidence for Intelligent Design
15 The Moral Argument for God
16 The Argument from Religious Experience
17 The Uniqueness of Humanity: Consciousness and Cognition
18 Deposed Royalty: Pascal's Anthropological Argument
19 Jesus of Nazareth: How Historians Can Know Him and Why It Matters
by Craig L. Bloomberg
20 The Claims, Credentials and Achievements of Jesus Christ
21 Defending the Incarnation
22 The Resurrection of Jesus

Part III: Objections to Christian Theism
23 Religious Pluralism: Many Religions, One Truth
24 Apologetics and the Challenge of Islam
25 The Problem of Evil: Dead Ends and the Christian Answer
26 Conclusion: Take It to the Streets

Appendix 1 Hell on Trial
Appendix 2 Apologetic Issues in the Old Testament
By Richard S. Hess

What made me smile the most when I looked at the table of contents was the fact that the difficult three arguments were included: The Ontological Argument, The Argument from Religious Experience and The Uniqueness of Humanity: Consciousness and Cognition. And most shocking is that the tome of weighty issues starts off like a story, not delving into arguments immediately, but first sets the scene asking "is there hope for the universe?" And then moves into providing support for the biblical basis for apologetics, talks about worldviews and defend the corresponding theory of truth and then and only then do the arguments start. I could go on and on. But there is the bottom line if you choose not to get this book be prepared to buy at least 10+ books to cover all the issues described wherein this magisterial work.

This only thing this books lacks is a history of Christian Apologetics, but at 700+ pages its a nice extra but not demanded for the budding apologist. This deficiency can be solved by obtaining Reasons for Our Hope: An Introduction to Christian Apologetics (with it great history section, but not as great other sections) or A History of Apologetics.

For most Christians I feel that Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith book and Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview is all that most Christians will need to be able to be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you".

51 of 61 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great teaching tool August 14, 2011

By Alice E Guinther

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Douglas Groothuis. (2011) Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.

You know, I had decided that this week I would post on my blog (Insights from the Furnace) a quote from Doug Groothuis' new text book Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith (2011) but I have decided to do more than that; this is a review.

Now I am not yet a professor (though that is my plan) but perhaps as a budding Apologist for the Christian faith, and a lover of the "love of Wisdom" my advice might be useful to others in the positions I would like to someday hold.

This is a wonderful, thought provoking text; and this textbook has been worth the wait...there is chapter after chapter of discussion enabling reading that I believe will enliven any classroom. There is room for nods of agreement and moments of hand-raising questions, and areas of disagreement and continued discussion. I could come up with a host of challenging questions to throw out to a classroom in each chapter...and it highlights areas I'd like to do further reading in my own studies.

And as I planned to, here is a quote from the introduction that will give you a "taste" of what you can look forward to in this text. Douglas Groothuis writes:

"What if hope cannot extend beyond human endeavor itself and is never answered by anything beyond it? What if the millennia of human cries echo only into the empty sky and not further? That possibility must be faced if the quest itself is to have any meaning. In the end, hope without truth is pointless. Illusions and delusions, no matter how comforting or grandiose, are the enemies of those who strive for integrity in their knowing and being. Statements such as "I like to think of the universe as having a purpose" or "The thought of an afterlife gives me peace" reflect mere wishes. These notions do not address the truth or falsity of there being purpose in the world or of our postmortem survival, because there is no genuine claim to knowledge: a warranted awareness of reality as it is. A hearty, sturdy and insatiable appetite for reality--whatever it might be--is the only engine for testing and discerning truth." (p.16)

And that gives an idea of the caliber of writing you have to look forward to while reading this text.

Chapters include topics such as: "The Biblical Basis for Apologetics" and "The Christian World View" in Part One, "The Ontological Argument" and "Origins, Design and Darwinism" in Part Two, and finally in Part Three chapters on "Religious Pluralism" and "Apologetics and the Challenge of Islam" and of course a chapter on "The Problem of Evil."
I have not given you the complete table of contents, but you can get an idea of the topics covered.

As I have found with Doug's other books; this is a challenging, but enjoyable to read...which is rare in a classroom textbook.

And if you were wondering, no I haven't finished reading the whole text...at 731 pages at the end of the bibliography; I can't read that fast...but I will finish the whole thing...promise.

31 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Comprehensive Case for Christianity August 23, 2011

By Mike Robinson

Format:Hardcover

A magazine for writers contained an announcement of a new book titled "Composition Number One." The pages of the book were unnumbered, unbound and could be shuffled randomly like a deck of playing cards. The reader was instructed to arrange the pages haphazardly in any order. "From there the story would unfold," the instructions said. This book is a striking symbol of the unbeliever's worldview. There is no ultimate order or intelligent organization; besides causation, induction are just the products of an unguided Big Bang. However professor Douglas Groothuis winsomely argues that the Christian worldview provides consistent order, reason, and a basis for causation; the good professor patiently helps the reader understand the chief arguments of Natural Theology and the evidence for Christian theism. Other worldviews, if they remain within the parameters that their foundation supplies, ultimately do not succeed; moreover Naturalism will only yield a cosmos that is perpetually chaotic, because it cannot supply the sovereign required for order guaranteed by providence.

Many skeptics aim to live a life of order and reason; they seem to have blind faith and believe in the impossible. It is contrary to intuition and seems impossible for order to come from unguided chaos.

"It is imperative that Christians defend and commend Christianity ardently, knowledgably, and wisely" (p. 647).

Professor Groothuis lodges his apologetic methodology within the great Classical tradition as he extends his defense into the realm of Evidentialism as well. He contends that the Christian worldview answers difficult questions that many in contemporary culture are asking. He seems to seek to almost exhaustively cover the whole apologetic field; no one work is capable of such, but his attempt is a great resource for the budding apologist.

Topics covered are:

- The justification for Apologetics
- The exclusivity of Christ
- Worldviews and the reason the Christian worldview is true
- Design and the theory of Evolution
- Islam
- False Religions
- The ontological argument for the existence of God
- The problem of evil
- and more.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork" (Psalm 19:1).

The arguments provided are not necessarily facsimiles of Aquinas' proofs nor are they fully consistent with Thomas' Five Ways and his numerous additional expositions of theistic proofs.

* The Moral Argument: Moral absolutes are necessary, and absolutes require an absolute foundation in God.
* The Cosmological Argument (CA): All (known) effects have causes; the effect of the universe's existence (and continuation) must have a fitting cause.

"And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come" (Ephesians 1:19-21).

Endorsed by:

- Sean McDowell
- J.P. Morleand
- William Dembski
- Paul Copan

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15).

Groothius advices that the perceptive "apologist needs to understand the basic worldviews and epistemologies, and then get a good read on the approaches taken by individual people. You can only do good apologetics when you have some understanding of the perspective of the person or the group you are addressing. Many people have worldviews that are internally inconsistent. They may have a certain amount of folk Christianity or some Hinduism, so the apologist has to sort things out and expose the inconsistencies. We need a kind of existential engagement with people, whereby we genuinely and humbly interact with them--not dump the truth on them or view apologetics as some kind of philosophical game. It is too serious to be anything like that." The author warns that one can demean apologetic task on the "Internet if you are not a well-rooted, intellectually grounded person. At the same time, the Internet allows interaction with a tremendous scope."

"Christian Apologetics" delivers a handy, yet large (almost 700 pages) significant and judicious volume that reveals the truth of theism. Herein the reader finds a cogent resource that furnishes powerful evidence with keenness and persuasion.

"I assert that nothing ever comes to pass without a cause" (Jonathan Edwards).

Also see the New Book that utilizes recent Apologetic research:
Truth, Knowledge and the Reason for God: The Defense of the Rational Assurance of Christianity